Loyalty Program

Loyalty Program is a popular topic at the Australian Frequent Flyer. All frequent flyer programs are essentially loyalty programs. But there are other non-airline loyalty programs, such as the loyalty programs associated with hotels.

Virgin Australia and Virgin Atlantic tails

Virgin Australia Seeks Expanded Virgin Atlantic Partnership

Virgin Australia and UK-based Virgin Atlantic have applied for regulatory approval to coordinate services between Australia and the UK. The expanded Virgin Atlantic partnership would allow the two airlines to offer a more seamless experience to passengers flying to London through better schedules, easier connections and enhanced frequent flyer benefits. Virgin Australia does not fly … Continued

21 Jun 2019 Virgin Australia
Qantas Frequent Flyer Gold Status Match

Major Qantas Frequent Flyer Changes – June 2019

Qantas Frequent Flyer has announced the largest overhaul in the loyalty program’s history. There are significant changes to reward flight pricing, with an increase in the amount of points required for flights in premium cabins and upgrades – including for round-the-world awards. But carrier charges and the amount of points required for some Economy reward … Continued

20 Jun 2019 Qantas
How Qantas Plans to Fly A330s to LA, SFO

Qantas Frequent Flyer Changes Coming

Update: The full suite of changes has now been announced. Read a full analysis of the changes here: Qantas Frequent Flyer Changes (June 2019) Qantas is expected to announce major changes to its Qantas Frequent Flyer loyalty program on Thursday. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and Qantas Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth will hold a press conference … Continued

19 Jun 2019 Qantas
Mistake

Travel Advice Ignored by Friends & Family

Many AFF members take pride in finding the best travel deals and optimising their frequent flyer points. But many say that they struggle to help friends and family members who don’t share the same passion for our hobby. There are countless stories of members who’ve tried to help, only to find their advice has fallen … Continued

Theft Thief stealing

Qantas Acts Quickly after Points Stolen

For Qantas Frequent Flyer members with large point balances, having those points stolen could be a nightmare. Thankfully, if this does happen, the airline has processes in place to recover the points. DoctorSimon was mortified to discover recently that 185,000 points had been stolen from their Qantas Frequent Flyer account. The thief had already used the … Continued

2 May 2019 Qantas
Hilton Hotel Edinburgh

Completing a Hilton Diamond Challenge

The Hilton Honors status match comes with 90 days of Gold or Diamond status at Hilton hotels. Available to anyone that already holds an equivalent status level with another hotel loyalty program, the status match also comes with a challenge to retain the status. For a Hilton Diamond challenge, this involves staying 8 times at Hilton … Continued

14 Apr 2019 Hotel Reviews
Concerned frightened man

Why Airlines Removing Award Charts Should Concern You

United Mileage Plus has removed its award charts and will shift to “dynamic” award pricing for travel from 15 November 2019. United gave no warning about the changes and they have attracted universal criticism, with many frequent flyers seeing this as a major devaluation of the United Mileage Plus loyalty program. United Airlines sold these … Continued

11 Apr 2019 United Airlines
Be prepared

Next Weekend’s Devaluations: Are You Ready?

  Several loyalty program devaluations affecting Australians will take place after next weekend. Over the coming days, Amex Membership Rewards, Westpac Altitude Rewards and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer are all changing their programs for the worse. It’s now your last chance to prepare for the upcoming changes! So we thought we’d give a quick recap of … Continued

11 Apr 2019 American Express
Qantas and Virgin Australia 737 noses

Loyalty Dilemma: Qantas or Virgin?

Choosing between Qantas and Virgin Australia is a common dilemma facing Australian frequent flyers. Although Qantas has a stronger route network – both domestically and internationally – sticking with Virgin can have its advantages. Last year, AFF member juliusg flew a mixture of both Qantas and Virgin Australia in Business class. This year, this member has … Continued

schwechat, austria, 20 may 2019, thai airways boeing 787-8 dreamliner aircraft take off at vienna international airport

Major Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus Devaluation

Thai Airways has announced a significant devaluation to its Royal Orchid Plus frequent flyer program. The airline is selling the changes as rewarding customers with “more miles” and “more award flexibility”. But, make no mistake – the value in this frequent flyer program is being gutted. The changes will take effect from 1 October 2019, … Continued

27 Mar 2019 Other Airlines
Accor ALL logo

Accor’s Le Club Rebranding as Accor ALL

Accor’s Le Club loyalty program is due for a brand refresh. From late 2019, Le Club will become Accor ALL, which we’re told stands for “Accor Live Limitless”. This will become the single, combined loyalty program of Accor’s existing and newly-acquired brands – some of which still have their own loyalty programs. Hotel brands to … Continued